An interview with Brian Morrissey, General Manager of Gaelic Laboratories, about the recent deal that put all of Ireland’s Beta-Lactam manufacturing capacity under one ownership umbrella.
In December 2025, a strategic acquisition deal between two manufacturers of oral dose Beta-Lactams put Ireland’s entire Beta-Lactam manufacturing capacity under one ownership umbrella. We spoke to Brian Morrissey, General Manager of Gaelic Laboratories, about the acquisition and its impact on the two companies, their customers and the future of the industry in Ireland.
Can you summarise the deal for us, and explain exactly what this acquisition has involved?
Both companies are well established pharma manufacturers with strong reputations in Beta-Lactam antibiotics. The deal, which took the form of a straightforward transfer of ownership, allowed us to take over Athlone Laboratories as a going concern. That means we now own both companies’ assets, equipment and intellectual property, and we assume responsibility for existing contracts, employees and operational infrastructure – for both companies.
In summary, the deal ensures business continuity with no disruptions to product lines or services. The reason people are so interested in the deal, I think, is that both companies are situated in the Republic of Ireland, just 130 miles apart from each other and apart from being a so-called ‘horizontal acquisition’ of two similar companies providing similar products and services, it wraps up Ireland’s Beta-Lactam sector under one ownership.
How does that provision of similar products and services offer a strategic advantage?
As both companies are widely seen as key players in the supply chain for Beta-Lactam antibiotics, we should be able to leverage many operational synergies. To begin with, we will be focusing on optimizing manufacturing processes, ensuring a seamless workforce transition, and aligning IT and compliance systems for a smooth operational shift.
Over the longer term, we expect to achieve financial and operational benefits, including revenue growth and cost savings. For example, economies of scale can be achieved by restructuring manufacturing activities across both sights, levering each facility’s individual strengths. Similarly, optimizing manufacturing processes across the two sites should reduce costs and enhance efficiency. For specific examples, we can look at the newly acquired site’s low humidity manufacturing capability, which is aligned with our pipeline for a Co-amoxiclav range, currently under regulatory submission. Meanwhile, our heritage site has been fully equipped with state-of-the art manufacturing and laboratory apparatus, including a brand-new blister-packaging machine. We can confidently say that the two companies each bring something to the table, enhancing combined capabilities and bringing added value.
These advantages will enable both companies to develop their product offerings while generating cost savings, which facilitate increased profit margins for our shareholders, and still enable competitive pricing for customers.
What does this mean in terms of helping to meet winter demand for antibiotics?
We aren’t expecting any antibiotic shortages this winter 2025/26 – the EMA’s strategy that was put in place in early 2023 has hopefully consigned such problems to the past, under normal circumstances. However, in light of the fact that global demand for antibiotics requires the production of 200 million drug packages of penicillin alone each year, having the combined capacity to produce 1.2 billion capsules per annum, or 1 billion film-coated tablets, should go a long way to help ensuring patients continue to have access to enough of these medicines, throughout the year, every year.
This deal puts Ireland’s two Beta-Lactam manufacturers under one ownership – how important is that development to the industry?
We are very fortunate to be situated in Ireland, with the country’s business-friendly climate that supports the pharma industry. It is now well accepted, I think, that Ireland is a global hub for pharma manufacturing, with ten of the world’s top ten pharma companies making it a home, and a growing CMO cluster of which we are proud to be a member.
It has been widely commented that the deal merges Ireland’s only two Beta-Lactam manufacturers. The regulators clearly did not see this as an insurmountable issue. Normal service will continue, as they say, and we will use the synergies described above to make sure this deal has a positive impact on the industry, in terms of making sure we enhance our delivery of essential medicines to patients who need them.
Between them, the two companies employ more than 120 people. We are determined to retain the experience and expertise that has built up at both sites over the years, while welcoming more young people into the industry as we grow further and expand in the future.
Will the companies continue as separate entities or will you be merging the brands?
There are no immediate plans to drop the two separate brands. You need to remember that the acquired brand is strong, with a great international reputation and – it has to be said – a longer history than our own. Those facts alone would make anyone pause before dissolving that brand and all the kudos that goes with it.
Added to that, you need to think about general things like market segmentation and product differentiation. Owning two separate brands can allow pharma companies to target specific markets or segments more effectively, and it can help enhance differentiation, allowing us to offer unique formulations, services or other offerings that might not fit under just one brand name. Maintaining separate brands can foster growth by allowing the different companies to focus on different aspects of the market, without the constraints of brand consolidation. Furthermore, as a CMO, we obviously have a lot of important relationships with customers and partners that might not feel comfortable about competitor products being made by the same CMO, so a continued formal separation can bring reassurance that such projects are being kept completely separate.
That’s not to say that in a few years we might not see that the advantages of consolidation might outweigh the benefits of keeping the two brands separate. But for the time being, at least, they will continue to exist as distinct entities, under one ownership and with combined operational efficiencies.
What advice would you have for others about to embark on an acquisition?
Have deep pockets for your lawyers and expect it to take twice as long as you thought!
I am delighted that the acquisition is complete, but I think we were naïve – on both sides – about how long it would take to get it done. I genuinely thought we would have been announcing the news in the summer, but it took another six months to get it over the line. Those delays had no material impact on our operations, but if I had to advise anyone with active timelines dependent on an acquisition, I would advise them to expect and plan for a later completion date than originally anticipated.
Other than that, I think the answer lies in surrounding yourself with a great team that is committed to the same goals as you. In fact, if I may, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my team, as well as our Executive Committee for their energy and unwavering dedication throughout the process. I have no doubt that those same people are going to help make this new partnership a great success.
